After an exciting Wild Card Weekend in the AFC, the Bengals, Titans, Chiefs, and Bills are through to the Divisional Round. The Bengals edged out Las Vegas while the Bills and Chiefs both crushed their opponents. The action begins Saturday afternoon and concludes Sunday evening.
To begin the Divisional Round, the Bengals visit the Tennessee Titans who had a bye week and didn’t have to play the Wild Card Round. Cincinnati held on to win against the Raiders who got a bit unlucky with the bad call by the refs right before halftime. I think Joe Burrow played pretty well for his 1st playoff game in his career. Nerves can affect young quarterbacks like we saw with Kyler Murray but Burrow did what he needed to do to get the win. Ja’Marr Chase had another outstanding game as he and Burrow continue to show that chemistry. A player who had a surprisingly good game for Cincy was tight end C.J Uzomah. He had a touchdown and averaged about 11 yards per catch. If Burrow and the Bengals continue to play like last week, they are going to make it tough for Mike Vrabel’s team.
The Titans are back in action and after their bye, they should be feeling fresh. They are probably going to have Derrick Henry back which is going to be a key element for them a they play better when he is on the field. If they can clinch the 1 seed without Henry for most of the season, they are going to get better with him. He is one of the best and when he is playing, it gets tough on the defensive line. Along with Henry, they’re going to have A.J Brown who is always a threat, Julio Jones, and Ryan Tannehil to deliver the passes. In front of their fans at Nissan Stadium, I’m sure the Titans will get the job done.
My pick for this game is 27-23 to the Titans. They are well rested, might have their star running back, and have the support from their fans in Nashville. I don’t think the Bengals defense will hold up against this star studded Titans offense. This game is starting at 4:30 PM EST on Saturday and will be televised on CBS and Paramount+.
The other AFC game which I’m really looking forward to is the Bills vs Chiefs to close out the weekend. It’s a rematch between these two teams from Arrowhead Stadium as the Bills visit Mahomes for the 2nd time this season. The Bills dominated the Pats last week and played as good as they could. They had a perfect offensive game and their defense was rock solid against Mac Jones. The receivers got open for Allen and helped him to his exceptional game. They ran the ball well with Allen and Singletary and also had a really good passing game. Dawson Knox played a huge role alone with the receivers Sanders, Diggs, and Gabriel Davis. They played as good as I’ve ever seen them and if they play like that against KC, they have a good chance to win.
The Chiefs played fantastic against the Steelers but their big test is against Buffalo. The passing game was phenomenal and they kept on coming at Pittsburgh. Mahomes threw the ball so well and gave the ball to so many of his receivers. The defense shut down the Steelers offense and need to do that against Josh Allen who can run and pass. As for Mahomes, I hope he plays the same way that he did against the Steelers. In his best, he is magical and can be a really special player. I think he is going to be really good and is going to get the ball to a lot of different people. This team finished the regular season strong and might beat the Bills yet again in the playoffs.
I believe the Buffalo Bills are going to win the game 31-27. I was really impressed with them against New England and thought they played really well. Josh Allen is on fire and even though this Kansas City team gets hotter in the playoffs, the Bills are playing fantastic and I’d consider them serious contenders for the Super Bowl. This game will be televised on CBS and Paramount+.
The Divisional Round starts and concludes with AFC Games. The Titans, Bengals, Chiefs, and Bills are all looking to get into the AFC conference. Which two team will get in? Can Kansas City get in the Conference for the 4th consecutive season? We will find out soon enough from Nissan Stadium and Arrowhead Stadium.
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